About

Welcome to Learning with iPads – the educational site for using iPads in teaching and learning. This site has been set up to aid educational professionals to browse for Apps by subject area and key stage. We recognise that browsing for educational apps in Apple’s App Store is not a straightforward experience. We hope this site offers a teacher, parent and pupil friendly, browsing experience to enable you to get the most from your iPads in education.

Why use the iPad in school?

There is little hard evidence to prove that the iPad raises attainment but we are in the early stages of iPad adoption in education. Until those statistics are produced, which we believe will not be before too long, here are some educational reasons for using the iPad:

  • Our users are finding that through the use of different apps, pupils are able to determine the type of product they construct to demonstrate their understanding.
  • The iPad is designed as a personal device but our expertise has enabled the implementation and management of class sets to suit school budgets. This balances the finances with the use of an anywhere, anytime learning device.
  • The abundance of apps and access to information on a vast range of topics allows students to pursue areas they are interested in learning about.
  • Notes can be kept in one spot, commented on and available anywhere.
  • The touch interface correlates to the technology students use in their everyday life and allows a high level of interactivity.
  • A 10 hour battery life means the iPad can be used throughout the entire school day.
  • The instant startup of the iPad means greater use of class time for learning.
  • There is anywhere, anytime access to current information that contains text, sound, images and interactivity. Information is represented with rich multimedia and data visualisation techniques.
  • Light and portable, easily carried to and from classrooms.
  • Heavy schoolbooks could in time be replaced by virtual eBooks and these can be updated in a timely fashion. Documents and tasks can be uploaded to iBooks by the teacher and downloaded onto the iPad by the student and vice versa. Texts and documents can be annotated and commented on by multiple students and teachers.
  • The iPad is seen to be an intuitive device and minimal technical support is required.
  • The iPad can be used with peripherals. For example the iPad can be slotted into a case which connects to a full size keyboard for extended periods of writing. There are also a number of other docking options which provide access to a full sixed keyboard. Voice recognition apps can also be useful for inputting large amounts of text and is another option worth investigating.